JapanesePod101.com Blog

As you learn more and more Japanese, you will come across the apparently confusing Japanese counting system as the numbers get more complex. This is due to Chinese influence, as the counting system in Japan comes from Chinese tradition, grouping larger numbers in “myriads” (every 10,000, unlike the Western way of grouping in thousands (1000).
in Japanese, 乃rom 3 digits on, the numbers are counted as:

百 / “hyaku” /  “100″

千  / “sen” /  “1,000″

1万 /  “ichi-man”  /  “10,000″

Numbers from 20 to 90 are (”digit”)-jū
Hundreds from 200 to 900 are “(digit)-hyaku”
Thousands from 2000 to 9000 are “(digit)-sen”
Tens of thousands from 10,000 to 90,000 are “(digit)-man”

Keep in mind, that:
If written in Arabic numerals, they are separated by commas every three digits (the same way you have always done!)
And also, that:
in Japanese, when long numbers are written out in kanji, zeros are omitted for all powers of ten (i.e., “4002″ is written as ” 四千二 ̶
This can be can be useful especially if you are travelling around Japan and shopping around. It will really come in handy during your stay!

If you have the chance to walk around a Japanese apartment building, you may notice that there is no door number four, as the apartment numbers skipped from 3 to 5. Also, many Japanese apartment buildings and hospitals don’t have room numbers that have a “4″ in them. This is because the number four is similiar to number 13 in english. Japan has strong superstitions about numbers. There are “lucky” and “unlucky” numbers in Japan. one reason is that many Japanese words are homophones, so certain numbers have pronunciations that are similar to other words that have either good or bad connotations.

For example, the Japanese believe the number four is very unlucky and they avoid it whenever possible. The reason is that the pronunciation of the number “4″ (四, shi) in Japanese is very similar to the word for “death” (死, shi). And the number “9″ (九, kyu) to be unlucky for the same reason, one of the pronunciations is ku, which is the same as the word for “suffering” [（苦, ku）].

On the other hand, the Japanese believe that the numbers “7″ (七, shichi) and “8″ (八, hachi) are lucky numbers. The concept of “lucky seven” is because of the seven Deities of good Fortune (七福神, shichifukujin), so the number seven signifies luck in Japanese folk religion.

The Japanese consider the number “8″ (八, hachi) to be lucky because of the way the strokes in the Chinese character gradually broaden out, which is connected to the idea of becoming prosperous.

All cultures have their own superstitions that remain through time and are weaved into the new fabrics of a developed country, such as Japan. in your culture, do you also have unlucky numbers? Do you find yourself avoiding them?

As you learn more about Japanese culture, we are sure that you will want to learn even more Japanese words and phrases! The way to experience Japan at its fullest is being able to communicate and make the best of your stay in this fascinating country. But sometimes we feel that time is short! However, did you know that you can use Japanese to learn more Japanese?  of course, you can ask for help, in Japanese!
Remember to be polite at all times and use:

すみません。 (  Sumimasen  )
“excuse me.”

We often use it to try to politely get someone’s attention if we are about to say something or ask a question.

「 word 」 は日本語で何ですか。 (  [ word ] wa Nihon-go de nan desu ka? )
“How do you say (word) in Japanese?”

You can use this phrase when you don’t know what something is called in Japanese.
If you wish, in the blank you can point and say kore wa (これは, “this”). don’t hesitate to use the ‘pointing system’, as it will help you until you have increased your vocabulary.
If someone uses a Japanese word you dont know, you can ask:
英語で何ですか。 (  Eigo de nan desu ka? )
“what is it in English?”

お 願いします。 (  Onegai shimasu. )
“Please.”

Onegai shimasu is a phrase that means “please.” You can use this phrase when you are asking for something or asking someone to do something for you.

Also, you can pair the following two phrases with onegai shimasu to ask aomeone to repeat something.

もう一度  (  Mo ichi-do  )
“one more time”

as well as:
ゆっ くり   (  Yukkuri  )
“Slowly”

Use Japanese to learn more Japanese words as well getting used to communicating in Japanese as much as possible. Remember that practice is fundamental as you learn, and it will Help you create not only fun memories, but maybe might start the beginning of an awesome friendship!

You may have noticed that Japanese sentences’ word order are different from English. Yet, although it may sound odd to say “I Marge am”, don’t be discouraged about it, it is just a matter of learning Japanese sentence structure and soon it will become second nature. Remember that to Nihon-jin our word order for “My name is Marge” must be strange too!

What is Nihon-jin? Nihon-jin is the way to say “Japanese person”.
in Japanese, to express nationality, you add the word for person, jin （ 人 ）to the name of a country. Let’s take a look at some examples.

日本 (Nihon)  +  人 (jin )= 日本人  “Japanese person”

in the same way:

ア メリカ (Amerika) +  人 (jin )=  アメリカ人 (Amerika-jin)  “American person”

イギリス (Igirisu)  + 人 (jin )=  イギリス人  (Igirisu-jin)   “English person”

in total, you can say:
（私は）アメリカ人です。
 (Watashi wa) amerika-jin desu.
 I’m American.

Note that when talking about yourself, it is not necessary to say “watashi wa”, as it is implied that you are talking about your own nationality in this case.

Easy enough? Talking Japanese step by step you will realize that although the grammar and structure might seem different, it makes sense in its own way.  now that you know some basic introduction and important ice-breaking introductions, go ahead and take that trip confidently! It only gets more interesting from here!

If you are in Japan for business or travel, or meeting you Japanese friend’s family in your own country, we are sure you would love to impress your Japanese hosts. But you have heard that Japanese is difficult and a mistake can cause great confusion or trouble. Don’t worry!
Here we bring you some useful tips for that sucessful first meeting:

“Kon’nichi wa. Watashi wa [name] desu”
こ んにちは。　わたしは [name]です
My name is [name].

in this sentence,
こんにちは
Kon’nichi wa is the Japanese equivalent of “hello” and can be used at any time of day.

わ たし
Watashi is a polite way for males or females to say “I” or “me.”

は
wa is a particle that follows the topic you are going to be talking about.

です
Desu is called a copula, and refers to one type of “to be” verb.

Just as important, remember to say:
はじめまして (Hajimemashite), meaning “nice to meet you”;
or the unique expression:
どうぞ よろしくお願いします ( Dozo yoroshiku onegai shimasu) which roughly translates to, “Please look favorably upon me.”
Using this phrase shows respect for the person and also that you are looking forward to a good relationship with them. It is sure to make a great impression!

So keep in mind that in Japanese, we give our full names by saying 1) last name, then, 2) first name.  So, take the person’s last name, attach the suffix san (さん), and now you can greet people politely in Japanese!
You will surprise everyone with your Japanese skills and politeness. We are sure that your efforts won’t go unappreciated!

Can you imagine offering to buy your new girlfriend a box of “rain” while shopping in Tokyo instead of “candy?” Impressive if you can pull it off, but not much help if she has a sweet tooth! When you can hear and say the pitch properly in Japanese, you won’t be caught making embarrassing mistakes!

Pitch accent refers to a characteristic of language where every syllable can be pronounced with a high or low pitch. Pitch accent is considered different from the concepts of stress and tone that appear in English and Chinese, respectively.

English: Stress
Chinese: Tones
Japanese: Pitch

Some assert that English has over 30,000 syllabic sounds. In contrast, Japanese has only 111 (112, according to some linguists). There are many homophones (words that have the same pronunciation as another but different meanings) in Japanese that differ only in their pitch. There are only two levels of pitch - high and low.

So, it is true that the concept of pitch seems foreign (because it is), but it is impossible to ignore, there is no way around it!

Because the range of syllables (spoken and written) in Japanese is limited, we cannot properly render many foreign sounds in Japanese. And as many more foreign words are used daily in Japanese, the solution was the addition of “new” katakana characters.

Here are a few of the more common ones:

example words:
ファイル fairu (”file” ) ; フィンランド Finrando (”Finland” ) ;　 サンタフェ Santa fe (”Santa Fe” ) ;  アイフォン aifon (”iPhone” )

example words:
ヴァイオリン vaiorin  ( “violin” ) ;  ヴィクトリア Vikutoria  (”Victoria” (name)) ;  デジャヴ deja vu (”déjà vu” ) ;  ラスヴェガス Rasu Vegasu (”Las Vegas” )

Pronounced in English as “tee” and “too.”

example word:
パーティー paatee ( “party” )

example word:
デュエット dyuetto (”duet” )
コメディー comedee (”comedy” )

Sometimes people find their own names to acquire a “funny” translation into Japanese sounds as a result of these similar, but not quite the same, approximations. However, it is awesome to see how the Japanese language finds a way to evolve and adapt despite its ancient origins.

Have you noticed that in words like shika (”deer” ) and hiku (”to pull” ), the “i” sound is almost inaudible?  This often happens also at the ends of the grammatical endings desu and masu, which are pronounced [dess] and [mahs], respectively. We call this devoicing “i” and “u”. That means that they become almost “whispered.” This happens when these vowels come between two of the voiceless consonants: p, t, k, s, or h.
Also, you will notice that in Japanese, there are some sound syllable sounds that don’t exist.

For example:
“si” doesn’t exist, but is replaced by “shi”.
“ti” becomes “chi” and “tu  which becomes “tsu”
“hu” doesn’t exist, “fu” is used. However, the “fu” sound is a lot lighter than in English.
(To make the sound, blow air between the lips, and not between the lips and teeth. Imagine this sound as being a combination of both “h” and “f.” )

“yi” and “ye” sounds don’t exist  in modern Japanese.There is also no “L” block of syllables in Japanese. Instead, you will find that in many words borrowed from English, in Japanese pronunciation and katakana writing, it has become replaced by a very light “r” sound. To make this “r” sound, lightly tap the roof of your mouth with your tongue, and try to think of it like a light “d” sound, as in saying the name “Eddy” quickly.
It may take some getting used to, but remember that the “r” sound is the closest sound there is in the Japanese pronunciation group. What borrowed words can you think of that have been apparently changed when pronounced in a Japanese way?

This Japanese All About lesson will teach you five critical words and phrases you need to know to get around Japan unscathed-and without offending anyone who might be helpful to you. You’ll learn how to say “please,” “yes,” and “thanks,”-and, just in case you do overstep your bounds, you’ll also learn “I’m sorry” in Japanese.

Sumimasen (すみません) “Excuse me” / “I’m sorry” / “Thanks”
Sumimasen is a versatile phrase with a few different meanings depending on the situation, the closest of which is “excuse me.”

Doumo (どうも) “Thanks” / “Hi”
Domo is a simple and easy way to say “thank you” as well as greet someone.

Douzo (どうぞ) “Please go ahead” / “Please”
If you’re offering something to someone or would like someone to go ahead of you or do something before you.

O-negai shimasu (お願いします) “Please”
You can use this phrase when you would like to ask for a favor or make a request of some kind. By using this phrase, you can show your appreciation in advance for the favor or request you have asked.

はい (hai) “Right” / “Yes” / “Here you go”
The most common translation for this word is “yes” or “right,” but depending on the situation, it can also mean “here you go” if someone says it as they hand something to you. Something important to note, though, is that Japanese people often use this phrase as they are listening to show they are following what the speaker is saying - it doesn’t necessarily mean they agree with or are affirming anything the speaker is saying.